City OKs fines for rundown houses

Foreclosed property is target of citations

LA MESA 
La Mesa has joined a growing number of cities around the county that are putting pressure on owners of foreclosed homes to prune their weeds, clean up junk and keep swimming pools blue.

The La Mesa City Council this week agreed to begin issuing citations of up to $1,000 in response to complaints of abandoned cars and weedy, junk-covered front yards at foreclosed homes. Green, mosquito-infested swimming pools are reported to the county's vector control. City officials will begin issuing citations immediately.

The move follows a recent spike in foreclosed homes in the city and accompanying complaints about their upkeep. According to data from San Diego-based MDA DataQuick research firm, the number of foreclosed homes in the city more than doubled last year, from 121 in 2007 to 251 in 2008.

As those figures have increased, so have residents' complaints, said Bill Chopyk, the city's director of planning and development services. The city received 32 complaints about the homes last year, up from fewer than 10 the year before.

“The neighbors don't like it because it looks bad and they feel it brings down their property values,” Chopyk said. “If you're trying to sell a home across the street from a junky, abandoned home, it doesn't really help – it makes it more difficult.”

City officials will continue to rely on residents' complaints, but they'll also launch a database of foreclosed and abandoned properties. A team of city officials will then inspect those properties, fining owners $200 for the first violation, $400 for the second violation, and $1,000 for the third. The city gives violators from seven to 10 days to correct the problem before issuing fines.

Other local cities have taken similar measures. Chula Vista passed an ordinance in 2007 that requires lenders to register abandoned properties with the city and maintain them. Violators face fines of $100 to $500 a day.

Starting with the first notice of default, the lender must check to see whether anyone is living in the home and, if not, hire a property management firm to prevent signs of disrepair. The city gives 30 day notices before issuing fines. Santee and Escondido have implemented similar programs, and El Cajon is considering one as well.

In the year since Chula Vista's program began, the city has issued $1.4 million in fines and penalties, said Doug Leeper, Chula Vista's code enforcement manager, who wrote the ordinance.

“If we were to do away with it, we would see a dramatic increase in blighted, vandalized properties,” Leeper said. “And, quite honestly, I don't want to roll those dice.”

Some real estate agents have complained that Chula Vista's program is too strict.

Jan Davis, a La Mesa-based agent, said Chula Vista's ordinance doesn't give those responsible for maintaining the properties enough time to correct problems such as dried, brown lawns before imposing fines. Sometimes the homes have been abandoned for months, she said, and it's not possible to grow lush lawns in a short period.

“We want to get everything beautiful and perfect too, but we can't make it look like Ireland overnight,” she said.

Janelle Riella, the government affairs director for the San Diego Association of Realtors, said La Mesa's new citation system seems fair.

“One of the things we think is that expanding community ordinances to include the foreclosed properties is an important step to stabilize the neighborhoods,” Riella said.